Vineberg: Talking Tonys with double nominee Christopher Gattelli

Andy Vineberg @ADVineberg

Saturday

Jun 9, 2018 at 1:00 PM

The 1991 Bristol High School graduate is up for best choreography for "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "My Fair Lady" at Sunday's 72nd Tony Awards, making him only the fourth person in history nominated twice in the same year in this category.

You don’t have to be a Tony Awards historian to know that Christopher Gattelli has accomplished something remarkable this year.

The Bristol Borough native is nominated for best choreography for two shows, “SpongeBob SquarePants” and the revival of “My Fair Lady.” The Tonys began in 1947, and this is only the fourth time a choreographer has been nominated twice in the same year.

No wonder Sunday’s 72nd Tony Awards (8 p.m., CBS) will be such a special night for him.

“I truly can’t believe they recognized me twice. That alone is kind of the icing on the cake,” Gattelli, 45, said Wednesday morning from Chicago, where he’s working on “The Cher Show,” scheduled to open in December at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre. “The fact that people are going to see snippets of both of my 11 o’clock numbers on the Tonys is also truly exciting. For people to see what I helped create this year, that alone will be something special.”

Not that Gattelli hasn’t been here before. He’s been nominated three times previously, winning in 2012 for “Newsies.” But the magic hasn’t worn off.

“I know it sounds cliché, but it really is an honor to be recognized by your peers,” he said. “I don’t think it ever gets old.”

Gattelli’s two shows are among Sunday’s most honored productions — “SpongeBob” received 12 nominations, tying it with “Mean Girls” for most by a musical this year, and “My Fair Lady” has 10. Last Sunday, the two shows won Drama Desk Awards for outstanding musical and outstanding revival of a musical, respectively.

Still, you could argue that Gattelli isn’t the favorite. Neither, it seems, are veteran choreographers Casey Nicholaw (“Mean Girls”) and Steven Hoggett (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”), who have been nominated in this category six and four times, respectively, but have yet to win.

The favorite looks like 30-year-old Broadway newcomer Justin Peck (“Carousel”), who last week won the Drama Desk Award for best choreography. In the 43 years the Drama Desks have chosen a best choreographer, the recipient has gone on to win the Tony 34 times.

Peck, who was the focus of Doylestown native Jody Lee Lipes’ 2014 documentary “Ballet 422,” is already a big name in the ballet world.

“Justin choreographed a full ballet, which is an achievement in and of itself,” Gattelli said. “And Casey and Steven, they’re so talented … being alongside them, I can’t even believe it. Just to be among these gentlemen, knowing the work they put out there, to have my name up there at all and to feel like I’ve contributed something that people thought was worth noting, there’s truly nothing else you can ask for.”

Gattelli laughed when asked if he thought his two nominations might steal votes from each other. For what it’s worth, two of the previous three two-time nominees did win the Tony: Susan Stroman for “Contact” in 2000 and Jerry Mitchell for “La Cage aux Folles” in 2005. (The other two-time nominee was John Carrafa in 2002.)

Win or lose, it’s hard to imagine a choreographer having a more artistically fulfilling year than Gattelli, given how different his two shows were. “My Fair Lady” reunited him with director Barlett Sherr, who he worked with on “South Pacific” (2008) and “The King and I” (2015), both of which earned Gattelli Tony nominations. And “SpongeBob” gave him the rare opportunity to choreograph songs by a long list of contemporary artists, including John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Panic! At the Disco and the late David Bowie.

“I’m fans of so many of them,” said Gattelli, a 1991 Bristol High School graduate who still has family in the area. “It was kind of a pinch-me moment every time (director) Tina (Landau) would be like, ‘Oh, here’s a new one from Cyndi Lauper, here’s a new one from T.I., here’s a new one from Aerosmith.’ I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’

“Of course, I wanted to do the show proud, but then there was that extra layer of ‘Wow, I’m getting to do a number for Lady Antebellum, I really want to make this special for them.’ There was always another level to it because it was such an honor to work with so many artists in one show.”

Gattelli already had a soft spot for “SpongeBob” because he used to watch it with his sister Kristen’s sons. Of course, never while bonding with his nephews over a quick-witted Nickelodeon cartoon did he imagine he was looking at a future Broadway musical.

“When we got the call, it was like, ‘SpongeBob?’ I’m not really sure how this is going to work,” Gattelli said. “And then when I went in to meet with Tina and she showed me her designs and her vision and her ideas for it, and all the different artists, it was a no-brainer. I was hooked, no pun intended, like four seconds in.”

“SpongeBob” opened in December at the Palace Theatre, followed by “My Fair Lady,” which also allowed Gattelli to work in a variety of styles, at the Lincoln Center Theater in April.

“The whole year felt like my mind was constantly shifting gears at all times,” he said. “It felt like a really exciting ride on both shows.”

His creative whirlwind has continued with “The Cher Show,” which includes about 40 songs and uses three different actresses and a variety-show format to tell the story of her life.

On Sunday night, though, the proud Bristol native will take a break from that work to look back on a year that most choreographers can only dream about.

“I keep hearing different things from different people. People leave ‘My Fair Lady’ and say that’s the one, or ‘SpongeBob’ and say that’s the one,” Gattelli said. “I have no idea how it plays out.

“But win or lose or whatever, it’s genuinely going to be pretty thrilling to hear my name called two times in a row. It’s a moment I already know I’ll never forget.”

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